Pugh, Meronk, Kristjansson land postseason honors

MACON, Ga. (May 1, 2013) – The Atlantic Sun Conference announced its men's golf postseason awards on Wednesday, and the Bucs had three players placed on the all-conference teams.

Freshman Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) and sophomore Rhys Pugh (Pontypridd, Wales) landed Second Team All-Atlantic Sun honors, while Meronk and Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) were named to the All-Freshman Team.

Meronk enjoyed a solid rookie campaign as the Buccaneer freshman led the team in scoring average (73.8), while registering a team-best 101 birdies in 2012-13. Meronk – who played in all 11 tournaments for the Blue and Gold – posted a pair of top-10 finishes and placed in the top-20 six times, including a collegiate-best showing at the Sea Best Invitational. Meronk tied for third with a three-round score of 3-over-par 219 at the PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Overall, Meronk recorded 10 rounds of par or better and two rounds in the 60s, with his lowest 18-hole total coming in the opening round of the Warrior Wave Intercollegiate where he shot a 4-under 68. The Wroclaw, Poland native’s best three-round score was a 2-under-par 214 at the Coca-Cola Invitational, which the Bucs went on to win by two strokes over host Wofford.

Meanwhile, Pugh made a huge charge late in the season as the sophomore golfer was named to the A-Sun and Coca-Cola Invitational All-Tournament Teams after finishing second and third, respectively. Pugh was edged out by North Florida’s MJ Macguire for the individual conference championship as the Welsh product totaled a score of 1-over-par 217 at The Legends Course of Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga. Prior to his runner-up finish at the A-Sun Championship, Pugh led the Bucs with his best collegiate finish and three-round score at the Coca-Cola Invitational. Pugh finished in a tie for third at 5-under-par 211. Pugh generated three top-10 finishes this season, including two in the final two tournaments of the campaign, while also starting the season with a collegiate-best score of 6-under 66 in the first round of the Tar Heel Intercollegiate back on Sept. 15 from the UNC Finley Golf Course.

Rounding out the postseason honors was Kristjansson – who provided the Blue and Gold with three top-20 finishes in 2012-13. The Icelander began the year with his best showing by finishing in a tie for sixth (2-under-par 214) at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate. Kristjansson ranked second on the team with 91 birdies, while tallying 10 rounds with a score of par or better and three rounds in the 60s. The ETSU rookie began his collegiate career with his lowest round of the season at 4-under 68, while repeating the score two other times during the year – once at the Mason Rudolph Championship and again at the U.S. Collegiate Championship.

North Florida’s Sean Dale – the No. 9 golfer in the Golfweek rankings – was named A-Sun Golfer of the Year for the third time in his career, while Osprey head coach Scott Schroeder was tabbed Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his tenure at UNF. Edward Figueroa from Florida Gulf Coast received Freshman of the Year honors.

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